Steve Jobs’ Yacht Impounded in Amsterdam

The Dutch-built yacht ordered by Apple’s late founder Steve Jobs has been impounded in Amsterdam because of a dispute over an unpaid bill.

By Maarten Van Tartwijk and Ian Sherr

A yacht commissioned by the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has been impounded due to a payment dispute with its designer.

The yacht, whose design began in 2007 and was seen as a collaboration between Mr. Jobs and Philippe Starck, is called the Venus. The price to build it has been estimated at more than 100 million euros.

But the Dutch publication Het Financieele Dagblad reported that a dispute has arisen about that work. A partner at a Rotterdam law firm that represents Mr. Starck’s company, Ubik, subsequently confirmed that the 9 million euro bill for the commissioned work has not entirely been paid, and so the vessel has been impounded in Amsterdam until the dispute is resolved.

Details about the yacht were revealed in the Apple co-founder’s biography, which was released shortly after his death last year. In it, Mr. Jobs said he realized he may die before the boat was finished. “But I have to keep going on it,” he said in the biography. “If I don’t, it’s an admission that I’m about to die.”

Mr. Jobs died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer before the boat was reportedly finished. An attempt to contact his estate was unsuccessful.